MR. GARRISON. This is to me a solemn, an affecting, a heartmoving occasion, but not a gloomy one. In the light of Christianity, there is nothing gloomy in the grave. Only while men knew not of" the resurrection and the life," was the way overhung with darkness. Now we know that Christ has arisen, what is death to the Christian? In one sense, the decease of Dr. Follen seems melancholy. Had he died, as it were, according to the will of God, had his work been fully accomplished, and his mission complete, our grief would be less poignant. But his time, in the order of nature, had not come. His death was premature, as well as awful. He was sacrificed on the altar of mammon. I consider him a martyr to the spirit of gain, which regulates the business of this coun

try.

The time has been, friends, when to you I was unknown. Few were willing to penetrate to me in my utter insignificance. The time has been, when not a single friendly voice encouraged me ; not a single friendly hand was stretched forth. I stood alone. At that time, who sought me out in my utter obscurity, and cheered my heart with the words of his lips? It was CHARLES FOLLEN. He found me at the outset of my labors, in the obscure chambers of Merchants' Hall. He aided, and counselled, and strengthened, and cheered me. He labored to enlighten those he dwelt amongst, and make them sensible of the claims of enslaved humanity. Again and again, did he go to Dr. Channing and others, and endeavor to bring them out in behalf of the cause. Almost the last thing he did before this fatal journey, was to entreat me to go to East Lexington, and preach on the abolition of slavery to the people of his charge. He told me that his own was a free church. Indeed, I knew that, had it been any other, he never would have officiated there. I knew him early; though, since the time of our first meeting, we have been separated by long intervals, so that I have not been in constant association with him. I knew him well. There are men, with whom we may be acquainted for years, and yet never know them. There are others, and he was one, whose characters are so transparent, that to see them is to know them. I knew him from the first hour I saw him; for his heart was like an open book. There was no hypocrisy or guile found in him. He was the lover of liberty-the friend of God. When I look upon such a being, all creeds, all systems of theology vanish. The contemplation of his devotedness to duty fills my mind. In moments of darkness he never faltered-in times of danger, he was always foremost. He had the gentleness of a child, and the energy of an an gel. The men who are endowed with transcendant powers-the men who are masters of the treasures of learning-the men who may be high in station, and exalted in popular favor-are they the men who are willing to stand forth as the early defenders of the wronged, and down-trodden, and despised-the advocates of the enslaved? No, sir. The man of them who can do it is a prodigy, and that man was CHARLES FOLLEN. He was a member of the

Board of Managers of our Massachusetts A. S. Society: and he was a rare man in council. He was also, at one time, a member of the Executive Committee of the American Society at New York; and his counsels and influence there were often of great service to the anti-slavery cause.

Since coming into this meeting, I have heard that intelligence has been received in the city from his wife and little boy. The child of such a father is able to give his mother consolation in her great affliction.

It is but a few years since the tide of political fury rose against us, and we were arraigned and bidden to show why we should not come under the penalties of the laws of Georgia, for daring to show ourselves the friends of liberty. Who took the brunt of that hour's labor and peril? CHARLES FOLLEN. It was CHARLES FOLLEN who then was brow-beaten and insulted by one whose name will be infamous in the history of his country, unless he repent-GEORGE LUNT, the chairman of the legislative committee.

Dr. Follen stood forth the advocate of humanity, without distinction of clime, or color, or sex. Suppose it were a woman who opened her lips for the perishing and the dumb! So much the better! He rejoiced to see her plead for the oppressed. Yes, sir! he felt it would be but an additional cause of rejoicing, if all the 'women of the land should advocate the claim.

[S. J. MAY explained what it was to which his brother Garrison had alluded, in speaking of this love of liberty which was uppermost in the heart of our friend. He had referred to the resolution of Dr. Follen, and the speech by which he sustained it, at the annual meeting in 1836. He (Dr. Follen) foresaw how those universal principles must practically operate, and he put forth those sentiments as a guide, perhaps, to those who had not advanced so far as to perceive clearly what impartial liberty implies.]

MR. GARRISON continued. It is a great thing to have a good wife, and it is well that our resolutions should allude to this circumstance in speaking of Dr. Follen. In all his sacrifices and difficulties, his wife stood by him always. She ever wished him to go forward, and never to go back. Our resolutions happily touch also upon the self-sustaining power of our cause. This he most deeply felt. Though a giant in intellectual power, he relied upon it only as secondary to principle, and it was in the righteous cause that he trusted-not in man.

The REV. HENRY COLMAN followed in a few impressive remarks, of which we have not yet been able to obtain a report. The resolutions were adopted with much emotion, the whole audience rising.

W. L. Garrison, on behalf of the Business Committee, submitted the following resolution, and made some appropriate remarks upon the character and services of the deceased. The resolution was then unanimously adopted.

Resolved, That the cause of emancipation has met with a severe bereavement in the death of BENJAMIN LUNDY, one of the earliest, the most self-sacrificing, and dauntless advocates of the rights of man, and the claims of bleeding humanity; that his memory should be honored to the latest posterity; that to no man is the country so deeply indebted for the mighty impulse it has received on the subject of abolition, as the first cause of all protracted effort for the overthrow of slavery; that among all the biographies of eminent philanthropists, his own will be among the most interesting and valuable to succeeding generations.

W. L. Garrison, on behalf of the Business Committee, presented the following resolution, which, after remarks from E. Quincy and Rev. John Parkman, was adopted unanimously:

Resolved, That the members of this Society regard with great grief the death of the young, the learned and upright ALVORD, at the moment he was stepping into a Rostrum, where his eloquent voice would have been directly heard by the whole nation and the world, in the cause of his country and of universal liberty.

Adjourned to 7 o'clock, at the Representatives' Hall.

EVENING SESSION.

Met at the Representatives' Hall, according to adjournment. A large assembly was in attendance.

Prayer was offered by the Rev. JOHN PIERPONT.

MR. GARRISON read the resolutions of the Society, respecting the life and character of DR. FOLLEN. They were adopted, he said, by a rising vote, the afternoon previous. The reading of them, here, in this hall, had been deemed appropriate to the place; for it was here that, in 1835, he vindicated the rights of man, and interposed to preserve the liberties of this country.

A resolution that had been called forth, by the death of JAMES C. ALVORD, and unanimously adopted, was also read.

MR. GARRISON then offered the following resolution:

Resolved, That abolitionism is going down,-down East,-down at the North,down at the West,-down at the South,-down into the understandings, consciences and hearts of the people, down among the churches, down through every channet of religious and political influence; and, grappling with the fiendish system of slavery, will assuredly carry it down to the lowest depths of infamy, never again to desolate and curse our land.

In the course of his remarks in support of the resolution, Mr. Garrison adduced, among other proofs of the progress of the antislavery cause, the fact that, just in proportion to our increase, do we find the South calm and reasonable in her demeanor. At the commencement of our enterprise, when we were insignificant in her eyes, she flamed terribly; and every press poured forth its fury upon us. Now that we have gone through New England, and swept over the empire State, and reached the far West, how does the South behave? Oh, her tone is altered; she is even quite tame in comparison! In proportion to our activity, and our consequent increase in numbers and in influence, we shall go on succesfully, and bring the country into a quiet and happy state. There need be no fears of a dissolution of the Union. The South cannot live without the Union: and the South is not prepared to die. (Cheers.)

But will not abolitionists fall back, and give over the pursuit in discouragement and weariness? They have been many years at work; and under such constant and strenuous opposition, will they not yield in despair? No! no, sir! never-never-come what may, till slavery is destroyed, or they cease to live! Threaten them with force, or tempt them with bribes, it is alike in vain. They will still be seen thronging onward! right onward! For their captain and their leader is God!

Time has been when, feeble and few, we stood alone, with only conscience and right on our side and if then we stood firm, what must be the strength of our determination now! Talk of falling back! Let not the tryant, and those who second him, lay this flattering unction to their souls.

"But are you not in trouble among yourselves? Is not the camp of the abolitionists divided?”

fellow-citi

Abolitionists divided! No, sir, they NEVER CAN be divided! (Great applause.) We have had some trouble, it is true; but so it was in the revolutionary war. They had trouble in their camp. They had a Benedict Arnold. Such have gone out from among us, for the very good reason that they are not of us. (Applause.) Besides, this defection is only local. Look at Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and other states. Do you see it there? No, sir-there is, there can be no division among true-hearted ABOLITIONISTS. Only what is mean, and personal, and sectarian, can divide itself from them. It does not belong to abolitionism, and therefore it must perish! We may expect, as our ranks are purified, to go on with more and more vigor and success. I am most happy to meet so great a concourse of my zens here to night. Here is much to be done-from this hall much is to go forth to affect the destiny of our country and our cause. Hither the people come with their various petitions, relating to our great subject; and THE PEOPLE EXPECT TO BE HEARD. They look confidently to have all their petitions grant ed; for they have asked for nothing unreasonable. They ask for action which will redound to the honor of their Legislature and their State. They ask that the anti-republican and anti-christian marriage law, which now disgraces our statute-book, may be swept away. They ask for the repeal of those statutes, by which men are stigmatized and insulted, and presupposed to be inferior and unworthy, on account of their complexion; that those remnants of despotism, by which the Legislature of a free people is made to appear in the attitude of marking out for men the channels in which their affeetions shall run, may be destroyed. They demand that those laws shall be repealed which say to man," Dare not to select a companion in life, the shade of whose complexion varies from your own; for we will punish you for so doing!" They say that, with regard to the making of matches, this Legislature has no concern on earth. Let those in love with each other, ask each other's consent to unite their destinies. It is despotism, not republicanism, which refuses to demand its repeal. Sir, the argument

on this subject is all on one side; hence our opponents have no resource but low and vulgar personalities. They say we are the advocates of amalgamation. No, sir: our enemies are practically such. We stand not here in advocacy of any thing but freedom. We demand the repeal of this law, because it is unnatural, immoral, unconstitutional. What God hath joined, this law comes in and puts asunder. This is a question of HUMAN RIGHTS, not of matrimony. If a Legislature may settle any thing regarding marriage, and say under what circumstances it may exist, it may do as much for slavery. In neither instance can we admit its power. We stand upon the ground of inalienable human rights.

Again, sir, we call for emancipation, immediate, entire and unconditional, in the District of Columbia. This labor, sir, had been spared, if COMMITTEES last year had done their duty. The Legislature was ready-the people were ready. If, this year, a faithful, uncompromising Committee do what the occasion demands. of them, I believe they will be fully sustained. We have, it is said, an unusual amount of democracy in the House this year, (a laugh) and therefore we have a right to look for a triumph, if democracy be, as I understand it, that which is opposed to aristocracy -that which goes for the rights of man.

Sir, I trust this Legislature will not go through the farce of passing indefinite resolutions on this subject, which may mean any thing or nothing. I trust that the people will not be wantonly taxed with the labor of again petitioning for what the honor and the principles of the Legislature demand should be granted at once.

Finally, allow me to say, with all confidence, God is with us. All that is good and true in the land is gathering around our standard. Ours is eminently a religious enterprize. The great ecclesiastical bodies are beginning to yield. The great political parties, too, are giving way. They have by turns made us their footballs, as their fancied interests dictated; but we shall conquer them at length. Not by undertaking a crusade against them as partiesNo, sir. We desire for our cause the support of men of all sects and all parties; and we expect that all will yet unite to support it.

With regard to a third political party for its support, I am happy to say, that among abolitionists throughout the country, it has been almost universally rejected. We feel that just in proportion to our moral power, do we generate political influence. Let us thank God, and take courage. Ere long, we shall see Massachusetts, as one man, refuse to fill any office or pulpit, unless with such men as will use both for the abolition of slavery. We shall see New England, in like manner, refusing to send any man to Congress, or to a State Legislature, who does not declare that slavery should be immediately abolished. When that day comes-and it will come speedily-there will no longer be resistance on the part of the South. She will yield to the mighty pressure, and join with us in proclaiming "Liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof." (Strong expressions of applause.)